''If it leads to anyone identifying our rudder then it's a
huge success. There's a 50% chance the rudder is from the
Taiaroa, which was the first steamer built in Dunedin
and struck the reef in 1871.

''The Margaret Casey also hit rocks there [in 1904]
and ripped its rudder clean off the pintels, which has also
happened to our rudder.

''Another possibility is the Mary Van Every, which
sank in 1874. It was being towed across the reef by the
Lady of the Lake, but the rope snapped and the Mary
Van Every went back on the reef and was destroyed.''

The Lady of the Lake also sank in the same area the
following year, 1875.

''We're trying to identify the timbers and working on
measurements and scale. Without a hallmark you have to look
at the materials used and scale,'' Mr Ross said.

The South Otago Museum has a similar anchor, from the first
recorded wreck off the Catlins coast, of the Henry
Freelingon on November 12, 1839.